Language and International Trade [M.A.]

Location(s): In-person/hybrid

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The program aims to promote cultural awareness and sensitivity concerning our society and societies of other world regions and provide the skills and knowledge necessary for competent performance in an international business environment. In addition, students will develop skills to work in the global business community and acquire practical knowledge of business practices in their target language.

Program Admission

Admit Terms and Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Fall or Winter. See Application Deadlines.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.

Program Requirements

Applicants must also meet the following program requirements:

Declare the language to be used to satisfy the language requirement (e.g., Language and International Trade - French). Native speakers of a language may not elect that language without the permission of the language section concerned. (Students applying to the ESL section should be sure their completed applications reach the Office of Admissions five months before the first semester of their program.).
Submit a statement of their reasons for pursuing this degree (Instructions - Spanish [PDF] , Instructions - French [PDF] , Instructions - German [PDF] )
Request a letter of recommendation from two former university professors.
Meet the background requirements stated below:
- Foreign Language - Non-native French, German, or Spanish speakers must possess at least a minor in that language with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 or equivalent proficiency.
- Economics - A two-course sequence in macroeconomic theory and policy. A two-course sequence in microeconomic theory and policy. (Students not meeting the above requirements may be granted conditional admission and required to complete ECON 201 and ECON 301 or ECON 501 and ECON 202 and ECON 302 or ECON 502 . Students must achieve an overall grade point average of 3.0 [B] or better in deficiency courses.)
- Business - A course in the principles of accounting. A course in basic computers in business.

Conditional Admission - Conditional admission may be granted to students who must still meet the above requirements. These students will be required to take deficiency courses to meet these requirements; this work will be done in addition to regular program requirements. Students must achieve an overall grade point average of 3.0 (B) or better in deficiency courses.

Application

Your application will be submitted using GradCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application.

- Go to 2023-2024 GradCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Winter 2025.

- Go to 2024-2025 GradCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2025, Fall 2025, or Winter 2026.

Domestic Applicants Within the application, follow the instructions to submit an official transcript from all previously attended institutions.

International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.

For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.

Department Information

World Languages 219 Alexander, 734.487.0130

Jeff Popko, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information

Michael Foster, PhD, French Advisor

Monica Millan, PhD, Spanish Advisor

Carla Damiano, PhD, German Advisor

Degree Requirements: 31-34 hours

The M.A. in Language and International Trade requires 31-34 hours of coursework to be distributed among required courses in foreign language, economics, business, and cooperative education courses as follows:

World Language: 10 hours

Complete ESLN 642 and ESLN 648 (five hours each) if fulfilling foreign language requirements with English.
If fulfilling the world language requirement with French, German, or Spanish, complete 10 credit hours in the chosen language.

Economics: 6 hours

ECON 508 International Trade 3 hrs
ECON 509 International Monetary Economics 3 hrs
Other “ECON” courses, 500-level or above 3 hrs Select in consultation with the graduate advisor.

Business: 12 hours

Select 12 credit hours from the following.

DS 501 Introductory Probability and Statistics for Business 3 hrs
(Prerequisites for this course are MATH 118 /119 .)
MKTG 510 Marketing Management 3 hrs
Other Business courses, 500-level or above 3 hrs Select in consultation with the graduate advisor. At least one course must be a business course with an international focus.

Culminating Experience: 3-6 hours

To complement their academic training and enhance their professional preparation and chances for future employment, all students are expected to complete a minimum 15-week assignment in the public or private sector, provided an appropriate position can be found. U.S. citizens may undertake this assignment either in the United States (U.S. Placement ) or a country where the language being studied is spoken (Overseas Placement ), while ESL students may elect only the U.S. placement. In all cases, students must satisfy the requirements of the placement for which they are eligible.

FLAN 688 Internship in Language and International Trade 3 hrs
Other options may be available. Students should see their graduate advisor.

Critical Graduation Information

Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

Master’s degree requirements must be completed within six (6) years of first enrollment in the master’s degree program.

In the event a student does not complete the master’s degree requirements within six years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all master’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.

A master’s degree must require a minimum of 30 credit hours.
No more than six credits of independent study courses and no more than 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined may be applied to a graduate degree.
Residency Requirement:
- For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 36 or fewer required hours, at least 24 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
- For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 37 or more required hours, at least 30 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. Minimum degree hours must still be met for graduation. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
- Residency and enrollment in multiple programs: Students enrolled in multiple master’s/specialist degree programs must have 24 unique credit hours in each degree program.
Only credits from one completed graduate certificate may be applied to a master’s or specialist degree in a relevant field of study, as determined by the Graduate School and with the approval of the degree-granting academic department, and be included in the residency hours above.
Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.
The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
Some master’s programs require a thesis; others require a special project or internship; others require students to pass a final exam. See the Graduate School website for Thesis and Dissertation Manuals, all forms, and information about research and human subject approval. Every completed thesis or dissertation must be submitted to Digital Commons. Any form of graduate student work submitted to Digital Commons must first be approved by a faculty advisor and the Graduate School.